Thanks R.D. I'm just not of the twitter generation, tho. I'm wondering how she got so skinny unless she is skating a lot.

Question: What would Sarah's score have looked like under COP? (oly gold skates). It was the most technically demanding ladies Oly skate up to that point. Is it still? Can you or some COP whiz break down that skate into COP points and compare to Yuna Kim?

Thanks R.D. I'm just not of the twitter generation, tho. I'm wondering how she got so skinny unless she is skating a lot.

Question: What would Sarah's score have looked like under COP? (oly gold skates). It was the most technically demanding ladies Oly skate up to that point. Is it still? Can you or some COP whiz break down that skate into COP points and compare to Yuna Kim?

I'm no COP expert, but I've seen tons of people on this board say that Sarah would have got many UR calls at the Olympics, and might have not won the gold medal under COP.

It's so hard to compare a 6.0 program to COP programs, but I do think Sarah had some good aspects of her skating that would've helped her under COP. She included a COE spin. Her spirals and FW were pretty good. And she had lots of transitions in her programs. BUT she would've gotten hammered on her jumps. I think her salchow and axle are her most likely jumps to not be picked apart, probably also the toe, but the flip, (f)lutz and loop ending combos were iffy on URs.

I do think, programs as they were, Sarah would've been so far out of 1st after the SP, her 4th was a big gift under either system.

If Sarah had skated in Vancouver and was treated as leniently as the other Ladies were I think she would have been in the running.
I forget her SP and am only referring to her LP.

I believe Sarah would have been given the benefit of the doubt on several of her jumps in Vancouver - just as Yuna, Mao, Mirai and Joannie were.

NBC replayed Yuna's opening 3x3 and Scott mumbled - very close - and it was on both jumps. Mao suddenly had fully rotated 3A's in Vancouver and Joannie stepped out of a couple of jumps that were treated lightly by the tech panel.

Who is to say how Sarah would have been judged? But we just can't forget she was skating under a different system and had the hardest program by FAR. Irina did not attempt a 3x3 let alone two of them and was a little sloppy herself on much easier jumps.

It seems to me that Sarah (and Tara) had the sheer drive to try to be the best and do as much as they could tecnically. I think they both would flourish under any system. I still feel disappointed that we did not see them mature and compete hard for a few more years. We will never know, I guess.

Very exaggerated criticism. Tara had to be second in terms of difficulty. I loved both skaters. It seemed like destiny for both. What warriors! Well, I wish Hughes would try a comeback! People are so obsessed with these judges and their slo mo UR calls. Well, I guess no one can say she's been outskated yet in an Olympics.

Yu-Na's 3lz/3t and 2a/3t blows any combo done by Sarah and Tara out of the water. Not to mention Yu-Na's difficult entrances into her jumps and superior spins and connecting moves. Sarah may have landed two 3/3s and Tara a 3/3 and a sequence, but I believe Yu-Na's SP and LP had more content and technically more difficult overall, so she should go down as the technically greatest Women OGM. I wish Yu-Na had done a 3loop then no one would question her greatness. But even without it, I still think the quality of her HUGE jumps with great height and distance makes up for lack of a 3 loop. All 3 were/are elite skaters with competitive drive, no question about it. However, with the adjustments made in regards to URs, both may have benefited more in the upcoming season than they would've beforehand.

Tara has pretty much said it is hard to defend your title. Sarah clearly lost motivation and the following season after OGM was quite underwhelming. Tara left the scene. I hope Yu-Na does keep on competing and up to her standards. That would be a true test of a Champion. But if she does leave, well, it's been quite an experience!

Tara has pretty much said it is hard to defend your title. Sarah clearly lost motivation and the following season after OGM was quite underwhelming. Tara left the scene. I hope Yu-Na does keep on competing and up to her standards. That would be a true test of a Champion. But if she does leave, well, it's been quite an experience!

I agree especially with your last point, MKFSfan. Whatever YuNa does or doesn't do in the future--even if she continues to skate and becomes "underwhelming," what she's done in the last two years or so has made her one for the ages. I don't know how one can quantify skating enough to compare her Olympics with that of Tara or Sarah. But the size of YuNa's jumps, and especially the size of the second jumps in her combinations--that's beyond compare, at least for now. All of the ladies you mentioned, along with Michelle, Mao, and of course Shizuka, are spectacular and memorable skaters. I guess they could all be ordered into some sort of ranking, but I certainly wouldn't want to do it. I'm just happy we have them all at their best.

Cheated jumps aside, Sarah had many great qualities as a skater. I often felt the harsh criticism that her skating faced was way exaggerated. She had interesting programs, good in-betweens (more so than Kwan and Cohen I'd say at the time), great spins, solid basics and a good sense of musicality, even if she was a little less polished than some of the other top skaters.